During a recent four-day trip to Africa, Obama raised concerns about China's burgeoning economic relations with China and suggested the US may prove a more symbiotic trade partner. While trade between the United States and Africa rose from $33 billion in 2002 to a high of $142 billion in 2008, it has since declined to $73 billion last year and is falling still more this year. China, by contrast, doubled its trade with Africa over just four years, to $222 billion last year.The most salient aspect of China-Africa trade relations is oil. By 2013, Africa had become China’s second-largest source of crude oil imports, shipping 1.3 million barrels a day, or 23 percent of what Beijing was buying abroad, according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations. China’s largest suppliers of crude include Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo and Sudan, all countries with troubled histories in terms of governing democratically.China provides low-interest loans to countries with poor credit ratings in exchange for oil and mining rights. Last year, China unveiled a $12 billion package of credit and development funding for Africa.

The Atlantic Council this morning in Washington DC hosted Sen Murkowski from Alaska and Sen Warner from Virginia. The speakers exhorted America to leverage its newfound energy abundance to fully participate in international energy markets. A key point was the disbandment of the ban on US oil exports, which would allow the US to send oil to countries currently dependent on Russian oil like Poland. Otherwise, the US suffers from a self-imposed sanction on oil while unfriendly countries like Russia and Iran profit. Other key points included further lifting restrictions on LNG, supporting energy diplomacy, working with Canada and Mexico, concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and ultimately reducing global energy poverty. Both senators stressed that greater investment in energy production should be accompanied by efforts to attenuate climate change.